Wednesday, November 13, 2019

I'm So Loathsome I Could Cry

I think I really got
to know Arvo maybe 10 or so years ago, mostly through his live performances.
Whether solo or with ensembles, his live sets were almost always intense, dense,
ride-the-mixer-into-the-red, primal “industrial:” sanders played on sheet
metal, that sort of stuff. It was material I really enjoyed hearing live.

So
when Arvo sent me
the audio for this release, I was surprised to hear the result of his
densely stirred, multiple layers of looping and phasing (as in, triple
digit layering, an extremely common pathway for his studio recordings),
was minimal—yet immensely immersive. Tones, frequencies, and snippets of
sound (all sourced from the TV series of the same name) layer, swim,
and ebb around
one another to create aural waves that then radiate and fold back into
themselves. Instead of Haters, I was reminded of Hafler Trio or Nurse
With
Wound. It’s a rare combination of breathing
room and myriad layers of shifting and sliding parts: new elements and
transitions seem to peek through over repeated listens.

Some additional info
about the release.

This release comes in a hardback book-like package with a hand stamped cover,
screen-printed interior, two small posters, and is numbered and signed by Arvo.
The edition is 55 copies.HERE

The new BLOOD RHYTHMS - CIVIL WAR LP was reviewed by noise veteran HOWARD STELZER at Vital Weekly:BLOOD RHYTHMS - CIVIL WAR (LP + book by No Part of It)

Holy shit. This album is intense. I’ve listened several times over, and find several things about it fascinating. Compositionally, it packs a lot into a short amount of time. As a complete experience from start to finish, “Civil War” is remarkably well constructed and compelling. It’s sonically deep and detailed, compositionally varied and skillful. Out loud, it’s a burner… on headphones, it’s a world to sink into and admire the project’s instigator Arvo Zylo’s studio mastery.Understand that I’m not generally a fan of power electronics. While some people surely do it well and have made its tropes their own (Pharmakon is far and away the best going right now, but also Ramleh, Bloodyminded, probably a couple others), it seems hopelessly anachronistic as a genre. At PE’s inception in the early 80s, it made sense a response to Thatcher and Reagan, the rise of the Christian right, popular nostalgia for a white-washed 1950s, economic polarization and racial tension, punk and post-punk giving way to corporate synth-pop… white dudes screaming about transgression had a particular place as a micro-sub-genre of industrial noise. In the 21st century, power electronics has been embraced by non-ironic right-wing edgelords who think that being aggressively vague about taboo subjects is the same as having something to say about them. For the most part, this crap is as provocative as a wilted salad. Blood Rhythms, however, is power-electronics that rises above genre. Not only is each song a self-contained unit full of depth, space and drama, but “Civil War” also succeeds as a cycle of songs that grows stronger in sequence, a single album-length statement that makes deliberate use of every minute of its run time. For sure, Zylo does shout over feedback (such is power electronics), but he also builds auniquely uncomfortable tension with jarring juxtapositions and a wide range of compositionalideas. The first side begins with “Closure” (har har), an elegy for reeds (baritone sax? bassclarinet?) around which weave multiple whispered vocal lines and crumbling close-mic’dpercussive rattle. “Sick Skin” is a Prurient-ish feedback shriek, the most genre-representative thing on the album, but noteworthy for how Zylo spaces component sounds around the stereo field to give an impression of depth and motion. It’s followed by the mournful growl of “Locked Away”, an ugly grunt of self-laceration set to mournful reeds and layers of noise that shift steadily sideways with textures that change subtly as new elements are brought in and out. At one notable moment on “The Face”, I audibly gasped when the introductory passage of nervous industrial sequencers slams against a mountain-sized brass section. Blammo! As the song builds, a howl of gray shrieking despair becomes a wall of pummeling acoustic drums, reminding me of Taiko drumming or Crash Worship. The album ends with a punishingly bleak two-part blurgh called “Alchemy + Grief”, which has Zylo exhuming his voice from some buried brain horror as a steady roll of beatless metal-sheering percussion amps up the anxiety. Instead of catharsis, "Civil War" simply ends, dropping the listener callously off a cliff. Zylo is the main voice of Blood Rhythms, but on “Civil War” he’s joined by Dave Phillips (of Schimpfluch), Dan Burke (Illusion of Safety), Wyatt Howland (Skin Graft), Mike Weis (Zelienople) and other players. The LP comes in a gatefold sleeve with a 44 page art book. (HS)––– Address: https://nopartofit.bandcamp.com/

The spirit being pierced by anti-harmony and severe turmoil. Voices cry in anguished urgency. There is no help for them, these sounds only a warning from the dimensional nexus. A place beyond current perception, an open aural pathway most would refuse to travel. BLOOD RHYTHMS is just downright scary. Knowing these sounds lurk within those around us could be even more frightening. Is this a completely rearranged creativity or is there a direct connection to an unknown world, dark and foreboding by the carefree standards of today's society? When music ceases to be and the cacophonous sounds become hyper focused, thoughts race and reach to understand. This composition titled CIVIL WAR defies rational thoughts. From the shrill opening tones, through both garbled and crystal clear messages, a drone like glue of electronic static holds everything together for a brief listen. The unknown reasons these sounds were made, clearly has purpose and tremendous significance.

Additionally, Bob Bucko Jr's track for the split with Arvo Zylo on no part of it was aired in a different episode, alongside Pharmakon, Death Factory, Tom Recchion, Kaada, Alien Sex Fiend, The Electric Flag, Orchid Spangiafora, Nautical Almanac, and more. Listen Here.

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NO PART OF IT logo courtesy of Christopher ILTH

NOPE

NO PART OF IT is a "private label" of sorts, headed by Arvo Zylo in secret.

It was kicked off in 2008 with a locked groove 7 inch compilation called "Trunculence" featuring Nurse with Wound, Dave Phillips, Crash Worship, To Live and Shave in L.A., Anakrid, SIXES, and more. 55 artists in total. The initial aim of the label is to release products of active imagination, rather than attention-starved gimmicks, and generally focuses on the work of conceptually isolated, visionary individuals.

About Me

BIO

SHORT:

Active since 2000. Experimental sound structures wavering around industrial noise territory, often characterized by excessive layering of similar direct sources/samples, or constant integration of a YAMAHA RM1X Sequencer.

Recent work has been more performative and based on mic'ed objects, including group ensembles, primal / conceptual vocal work, and soundtrack-oriented premises.

LONG:

Arvo Zylo has been making experimental music that wavers around but is undeniably anchored in the vein of industrial noise, since the year 2000. He works under his own name as well as under the collaborative umbrella moniker "Blood Rhythms".

Zylo started out having no previous knowledge about experimental music, with a primitive sequencer, where he'd destroy presets and cause malfunctions as a primary source of compositional inspiration. His work has evolved to fetishize extreme layering, repetition, raw material action, feedback, human/animal/onomatopoeia sounds, and naturally abrasive elements without the use of effects pedals.

Arvo Zylo has toured the midwest numerous times, as well as being featured at Denver Noise Fest four times, Dead Audio Fest in Houston (2010), St. Louis Fest (2010), Heavy Focus (Minneapolis, 2010), St. Petersburg Noise Fest 2013, Indiana Noise Fest 2013 and 2014. Radio stations he's been interviewed or featured on include WFMU (New Jersey), WZRD (Chicago), WCSB (Cleveland), and WKCR (New York).

In terms of recorded output, both under his own name and under the Blood Rhythms project, he has done split releases with GX Jupitter-Larsen, Le Scrambled Debutante, TOMB, and Death Factory. Some releases have been produced by such outfits as Locrian's private label Land of Decay, Banned Productions headed by AMK, Phage Tapes, Spleencoffin, OUT-OF-BODY RECORDS (headed by Rob of Terminator 2 and FILTH), and others. A handful of collaborators that Zylo has been involved with include Daniel Burke (Illusion of Safety), renowned collage artist Christopher Ilth (ex Daily Void), German Dadaists Kommissar Hjuler und Mama Baer, "avant-industrial gospel" band ONO, and industrial noise veteran Christopher Turner (Nookleptia).

Blood Rhythms has featured either live or recorded contributions from Bruce Lamont (Corrections House, Bloodiest, Yakuza), Ben Billington (Tiger Hatchery, Quicksails), Mike Weis (Zelienople), Alejandro Morales (Piss Piss Piss Moan Moan Moan, RUNNING), Clayton Counts (Bull of Heaven, the Beachles), the aforementioned GX Jupitter-Larsen (the Haters), Elizabeth Floersch (Fatale), and members of the entire band ONO, to be short.

Previous group incarnations started off being based around the concept of playing layers of live brass instruments in a drone fashion with as many live players as possible, but it evolved to incorporate junk metal, prepared guitar, tape loops, power tools, and synthesizers.

People have remarked that Zylo's releases are always very different, but his most representative solo release is "333". There are now over 700 copies in existence, and it took 6 years for him to complete it.

Some select quotes about "333":

"...this recording feels like it had to be made, and it transcends its limited equipment resources as if the music couldn't be stopped..."

"....Arvo Zylo's work is often the product of literal years of toil, the potent result of countless hours refining, perfecting, and focusing wild energies. Projects like his "333" and "Assembly" feel more like they've been finished in a metal refinery than a mastering house, their labyrinthine vertical layers chosen and fixed in place with firm force."

"First, I was really focused on the intensely constructed sequenced structure - then, today, I was struck by the more organic components that seem to grow around the more rigid parts. It is an intense listen, for sure. "

Mark Solotroff (Bloodyminded, Anatomy of Habit, Intrinsic Action)

"A technicolor nightmare..." "...A cyber punk thrill ride" "...totally assaulting music without actually relinquishing the conventional rules of what music should be."

Having been active in live venues for experimental music and noise since 2003, Zylo at one time ran or co hosted two separate weekly experimental showcases, aside from several well received one-off events and warehouse parties. He's been writing on the subject of sound art periodically since around 2006, having written for Roctober, Special Interests, Heathen Harvest, WFMU's Beware of the Blog, Chicago's NewCity, and others. Arvo's "Delirious Insomniac Freeform Radio Show", which ran for 7 years on WLUW, has afforded him the rare opportunities to interview Genesis Breyer P-Orridge, J.G. Thirlwell (Foetus), and several other luminous characters of widely varying backgrounds.

"NO PART OF IT" is a label that kicked off in 2008 with a 7 inch compilation (titled "Trunculence") of 100 locked grooves by 55 artists. Some of those artists were Nurse With Wound, Crash Worship, Helios Creed, Black Leather Jesus, Anakrid, dave phillips, and Sudden Infant.

Aside from personal releases, the label has released a CD compilation celebrating the 4th anniversary of Arvo's radio program (active on WLUW 2007-2014), The Delirious Insomniac Freeform Radio Show. Before that, Zylo was a regular clandestine DJ at WZRD between 2004 and 2007, and continues to make irregular appearances there. "Delirious Music For Delirious People" included songs by Controlled Bleeding, Zola Jesus, Pharmakon, Gary Wilson, Haunted George, Big City Orchestra, Rancid Hell Spawn, WOLD, and more within its 23 tracks.

NO PART OF IT went "off-the-grid" for a couple of years, (there are some releases that sold out without any representation on the internet, we are pleased to say) selling only by xerox newsletters and money orders, but is now back on "the digital scene". (Bandcamp)

On September 9th, 2011, Arvo Fingers and WLUW celebrated the 4th Anniversary of the Delirious Insomniac Freeform Radio Show as well as the release of the first volume of "Delirious Music For Delirious People", a compilation featuring Jarboe, Controlled Bleeding, Zola Jesus, Boyd Rice and Friends, Gary Wilson, BeNe GeSSeRiT, Big City Orchestra, Hans Grusel's Krankenkabinet, and others.